The Primacy of the Right over the Good in International Education - Case Study Example

Thoroughly Discuss the Moral and Economic Implications Involved In the Movement ‘Occupy Wall Street’ movement is a demonstration of protest that has achieved extensive popularity in recent times. This protest has been covered by most of the media such as television agencies, magazines and social networking sites and is considered as an iconic demonstration of conflict which is progressively gathering and attaining extreme focus of the global audience. The protest has been observed to experience numerous debates that will determine if the movement is reasonable or is an abuse of freedom of speech and right to dispute. Occupy Wall Street movement started on September 17, 2011 in the Zuccotti Park of New York. The moral and economic implications of Occupy Wall Street movement are quite diverse in nature. The major facets of the movement are social and economic disparity, greediness, corruption and unwarranted power of business organizations on government. The moral issues of Occupy Wall Street movement comprise equality, care and freedom (Kaneck, 2012). The common concern recognized in the movement is the wealth gap between 1% (who are categorized as wealthy businessmen and bankers) and the 99% (who are the other citizens including the protestors). According to the protestors, the 1% has excessive wealth and authority and also has power over economic well-being of the nation. The protestors of Occupy Wall Street movement view the rich as frauds who misuse the economic systems and policies (Jickling & Hoskins, 2011). Thoroughly Analyze Each of the Implications Identified Above Against the Utilitarian, Kantian, and Virtue Ethics to Determine Which Theory Best Applies To the Movement; Thoroughly Supported Your Position with Examples and Evidence Ethical theories have been considered for analyzing the protest movement. The above implications of Occupy Wall Street movement can be analyzed by using three major ethical theories which are Utilitarian, Kantian and Virtue Ethics. Utilitarian approach generally depends on the view that ethical activities can generate most of the good outcomes for society and economy. It is a general belief that society is the net outcome of individual choices for conducting certain activities. Utilitarian ethics possess the view that appropriate course of activities can enhance the value of individuals, increase the happiness and minimize the sufferings of people in a society. Kantian ethics is based on the thought of ethical responsibility. It proclaims that an activity can only be considered as ethical if it is conducted on the basis of duty, rather than on the basis consequences of such actions. The outcome of Kantian ethics is subject to the statement that there is no inherent connection between happiness and virtue. It highlights the right activity over the good activity. On the other hand, virtue ethics concentrates on the role of an individual for defining or assessing ethical behaviors and activities. The differences between these three ethics depend on the way ethical problems are approached (Cobbett & Germain, 2012). With respect to the Occupy Wall Street movement, unseen events of bailout, movement of money and economic crisis are all agreed upon certain activities of people. Considering the above three ethical theories, utilitarian ethics best match with the implications of Occupy Wall Street movement. It can be observed that the objective of Occupy Wall Street movement is to minimize the corruption and enhance the participation of government in order to support the economic growth and to ensure equality of wealth and income. Furthermore, the moral and economic implications with respect to the minimization of unemployment, income inequality and equal wealth distribution can only be possible if utilitarian ethics is followed (Asanuma, 2011). Thoroughly Determine Who Is Responsible For Income Inequality And Wealth Distribution In The U.S. In Your Analysis, Make Sure To Include If This Is Something That Happened Suddenly or If It Built Up Over Time; Thoroughly Explained Your Rationale Income inequality is considered as one of the most vital economic problems in the US. Evidences from numerous sources specify that income inequality has increased expressively in the US since the economic downturn of 2007. According to the data of Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), at present time, the US is placed in the 39th position in terms of income inequality. The increasing unequal wealth distribution has not occurred suddenly; rather it has built up over time. In this context, it can be stated that the public policy of the US itself is responsible for unequal wealth distribution (Montopoli, 2011). It is being alleged that inadequate economic policies had contributed to the economic collapse in 2008. For instance, it can be observed that the marginal tax rate of wealthy people in the US is considerably low than low income group people that cause tax unfairness. Furthermore, the US has experienced substantial level of deficit and debt due to the high level of spending which has also impacted on the employment opportunities. Moreover, the protestors of Occupy Wall Street movement believe that Republicans are principally responsible for widening the income gap in the US. The governmental initiatives and policies of the US provide more benefits to high income group people than the low income group people. Average members of government bodies and political leaders put more effort on fundraising activities which deliver more benefits to the business corporations, resulting in increasing unequal wealth distribution. It should be noted that the government must put more emphasis on education rather than fundraising activities which would not only help to generate skilled workforce, but can also help to generate more income for people (Montopoli, 2011). Thoroughly Suggest an Equitable Outcome from the Movement That Would Be Appropriate For Our Capitalistic Society Occupy Wall Street movement usually raises concern about fundamental disparities of income and wealth between 1% and 99%. The movement has been defined as anti-capitalist movement, since the protestors are focusing on getting more and better employment opportunities. The protestors also seek for equivalent distribution of income, bank restructuring and reduction of the impact of business organizations on the political leaders and the government. The protestors are generally unsatisfied regarding the current condition of financial inequality and politics, and due to this circumstance, they believe that capitalism can never produce wellbeing for the society and economy as a whole (Levine, 2012). From the Occupy Wall Street movement, it can be observed that there are certain problems of capitalist system which can be observed from recent economic crisis. It has shown that capitalist economy is quite unstable and can cause devastating outcomes in future. One of the most basic principles of economy is that in order to maintain equilibrium condition, there is need for balancing the supply and demand. However, in reality, it can be observed that there are significant cases of unmet demands in different corners of the world. At the same time, it can also be observed that there are vast underutilized resources such as employees and machines which are either in idle condition or are not performing up to the potential. It can be observed that the market in capitalist economy is not performing in a proper way. Several large business organizations and financial institutions are taking gambles without any assistance of government which can lead to collapse of the entire economy. The present capitalist economic system has shown that the recent financial crisis was not a sudden incident; rather the large corporations had their individual inducements to act in ways which led to the crisis. The core problem of present capitalist economy is not the corruption and greed of people, but the capitalist system that encourage people to become corrupt. Hence, the most equitable outcome that can be expected or suggested from Occupy Wall Street movement is reformation or change of capitalist economic system. The fundamental proposition of the protest is that people are paying high cost for the inequality of income and wealth. The unstable economic system with low growth not only puts democracy in danger, but also impacts on the system of justice (Stiglitz, 2012). Thoroughly Predict Whether the Movement Will Continue, Fad Away, or Turn Into Something Else; Thoroughly Provided a Rationale with Your Response Occupy Wall Street movement was at the peak of its influence in 2011. However, it can be observed that there are no unified objectives of Occupy Wall Street movement, making it difficult for protestors from different nations to perform cooperatively. As a result, the protest of Occupy Wall Street has gained low influence on the political ground. Furthermore, in certain nations, Occupy Wall Street movement has become significantly related with anti-globalization movement. The central concept of Occupy Wall Street is dissimilar within different nations, making it ineffective to have strong impact on the political and economic system. Moreover, media coverage of the protest has also reduced significantly in recent days. However, it can be argued that irrespective of the fact that Occupy Wall Street movement may fade away or will continue, it cannot be rejected that wealth and income inequality has reached at an extreme level. There is a strong on-going conflict between low income and high income group people which can generate bigger consequences in future. Thus, although the influences of Occupy Wall Street movement have reduced in recent days, it has not diminished completely. In future, this movement might generate bigger threats for the capitalist economy (Stiglitz, 2012). References Asanuma, W. (2011). The primacy of the right over the good in international education. The Third Asian Conference on Education 2011 Official Proceedings, pp. 985-996. Cobbett, E., & Germain, R. (2012). ‘Occupy Wall Street’ and IPE: insights and implications. Journal of Critical Globalization Studies 5, pp. 110-113. Jickling, M., & Hoskins, S. M. (2011). Finance and the economy: Occupy Wall Street in historical perspective. Congressional Research Service, pp. 1-11. Kaneck, H. G. (2012). Occupy Wall Street: a movement in the making. Trinity College Digital Repository, pp. 1-49. Levine, L. (2012). The U.S. income distribution and mobility: trends and international comparisons. Congressional Research Service, pp. 1-19. Montopoli, B. (2011). Left behind in America: Who's to blame for the wealth divide? Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20102289-503544.html Stiglitz, J. E. (2012). The world's 99% knows capitalism is failing and believes that change is possible. Retrieved from http://truth-out.org/progressivepicks/item/9907-the-price-of-inequality-99 Read More